Chapter 77: Girl Talk
In the dinner hall of the School of Divinity and Mysticism, the dinner table was full of juicy-looking food that smelled as good as it looked.
In the school, the food was always good, as headmaster Arthur didn't want any of the students to stay hungry because they didn't like some of the food.
Therefore, there were all kinds of food for everyone to enjoy—stew, meat, vegetables, pasta, freshly baked bread, steak, desserts, fruits, and more.
As drinks, there were various juices, water, and some drinks that contained alcohol, but everyone at the table was an adult, so they were free to choose what they wanted to drink.
No one was stingy enough to not have something they liked to eat on the table.
With the silverware clinking together and the chatter of conversation filling the room.
"…A troublesome matter, indeed."
Arthur talked with Thomas, who had extended his stay in the school, even though he originally planned to leave rather shortly.
However, with his daily visits at Lady Vivian's store, his desire to stay grew stronger by the day, and he was also curious of Kael's progress.
He had a little talk with Master Malrick of the Corpse Collectors, and he seemed satisfied with his first delivery mission, even though it was a very easy one.
At the current moment, Arthur and Thomas were talking about Miss Angelica's disappearance, and earlier today, Thomas discovered something.
"Indeed. A woman of her description was seen boarding the steam locomotive that left for Gehram. It could also be that she was misidentified, but they saw the same pendulum that she likes to wear."
Thomas said and took bites of the pork stew, which was rather tangy and delicious.
"I might've made a mistake in making her a teacher at this school. She could've been involved with some bad people, and was forced to leave, but I would've expected her to say something to me.
"She approached me a while ago, wanting to become a teacher at my school, and at first, I didn't think much of it, and she seemed to know what she was talking about.
"I was in need of a decent Curse Teacher as we never had any, and I personally had to teach those classes even though my knowledge about cursed objects was nonexistent.
"However, since she was in possession of one cursed object, and in her interview, she came across as a smart individual.
"…I should've been more careful."
Arthur shook his head, and he'd been kicking himself in the leg for the mistake of not interviewing Angelica more.
"It's not your fault. It's impossible to know what people are doing behind closed doors. Maybe there is something about Miss Angelica's disappearance that we still don't.
"Maybe she sent a resignation letter before leaving, but the pigeon carrying that went haywire, and it never arrived to you.
"We just don't know!"
Thomas said and took a sip of the strawberry juice that sat in front of him.
"…Maybe."
Arthur thought and then looked around the table, where the smiling students were chatting among themselves, and it was pretty loud.
In the middle section of the table, the girls were seated together, and while they ate in a very ladylike manner, they were also big on gossiping.
"…Willow, I heard something interesting today. Apparently you and that new student went out to town together. A date, perhaps? Did you get excited from seeing another Outlaw here or what?"
Hazel Sterling asked with a cheeky smile.
She was very much of a tomboy—she liked to spend her days playing sports with the boys and getting into mischief, rather than doing stereotypically feminine activities.
"Hazel…"
Esme looked at her with half-anger in her gaze, not amused by her words a little bit.
"I just showed him around the town since I decided to take a trip there either way, so I asked him to come along."
Willow said while innocently twirling a string of spaghetti around her fork.
She didn't take the bait and become all flustered about Hazel's teasings. It was the same kind of teasing as Sister Mary did to her.
They wanted her to show some kind of reaction, but to their disappointment, she was Outlaw, and very much in control of her facial expressions.
"What about you, Hazel? I heard you, and Owen has been rather busy late at night. You know that we can hear you two, right?"
Ivy asked with a slightly ashamed smile.
"…Maybe I want you to hear, Ivy."
Hazel leaned over to her, blinking her long eyelashes teasingly, and then smiled after seeing Ivy's cheeks turn a shade of pink.
"Hopefully you'll join us one day. Three of us can have some real good fun… It's the only way to shed some of the stress that this place injects us with."
"Hehe~ Ivy wouldn't join you guys, she has someone else~"
Willow said with a teasing smile, and Ivy cocked her head to the side, about to ask, "Who?" but then saw the freckled-faced young woman looking to the end of the table.
There, Finn was having a passionate conversation with Kael about the newly discovered alchemy elixir recipe that Grand Alchemy Master Merlin had discovered.
Well… Finn was passionately discussing it while Kael was just enjoying his juicy steak while hoping that he had a way to turn off his hearing.
"Finn? Are you serious?"
Ivy asked, raising an eyebrow in disbelief, and she didn't quite understand where this rumor came from that she had something going with Finn.
While listening to the conversation and eating, Sage Everett stayed quiet with her usual cold princess demeanor.
She wasn't much of a talker, especially when it came to love matters, but still, she wasn't as cold as a block of ice as some might wonder.
"He likes you~ Maybe you can have some fun with him. It doesn't have to be serious, like with mine and Owen's situation.
"He doesn't expect us to become anything serious, and that's how it should be."
Hazel said.
"…"
Ivy stayed quiet, but she didn't humor the idea, as she wasn't like Hazel, who was just willing to sleep with anyone.
She opened her mouth but quickly closed it, as there was someone else in her mind that she would much rather do it with.
The young man with black hair, skin as white as snow, and an immensely handsome face that was like that of a prince.
With him, she wouldn't mind.